Last Day in Maui, does this sound good?
 

We have enjoyed our trip and have been a bit lazy! Relaxing, driving up to see surfing, shopping, etc; no big day trips.

On the way from the Hyatt to the airport, I thought we'd get an early start and try and see some of Central Maui and then end at the
place where they windsurf, to watch at Ho'okipa beach park. We could have lunch at Mama's Fish Market or drive up to Haliimaile General Store for our "last Maui meal".

We need to return the rental car by 5:30PM.
Our flight is at 7:30PM.

Does anyone have suggestions on places to stop on this journey? Is the town of Pa'ia a nice stop?

Thanks!

Aloha!

If you haven't seen the crater, the drive up is great (smell the eucalyptus), the volcano spectacular, and the drive back down (goodbye, ocean) also beautiful. If you have time, the wind-surfing is on the way back to Kahului.

Trying to get the last part of my TR posted, but getting side tracked so here is what we did in central Maui.

Grab something for a picnic lunch from Safeway. Take 30 and go to ‘Iao Needle to see beautiful valley and a short hike to top with a great view [short but lots of steps] and also see their gardens down lower. Then take you picnic lunch and head back out to the main road stopping at Kepaniwai Park and Heritage Gardens and have your lunch in the Heritage Gardens along with lots of locals! Pretty place to eat.

We didn't stop at Pa'ia but the blue book says it has lots of shopping and some unique citizens stuck in 60's/70's
era!

Hope this helps...
Debi

YES, thank you it helps! I don't have time to sort through all the posts, and this is a specific query.

I wondered about tossing in the 'Iao
needle but didn't know how "do-able" it was (how far/hard).

THANKS!!

I thought the shops at Pa'ia were a waste of time, just hippie t shirts and other retro junk. Our rental car was broken into in the public parking lot there. I was told it is a daily occurence in that parking lot. If you do go, park on the street. But I wish I hadn't wasted my last day there.

barbaraS we were JUST talking about that theft problem, and we decided to inquire about going ahead and checking our bags before the windsurfing watch.

We might skip Pa'ia! Thanks for the
heads up.

Does anyone know if it is not safe
with our luggage in the car at the Iao parking lot? Now I am worried.

:(

There were lots of cars coming and going in the lot @ 'Iao so I figured that would cut down on the possible break in. It is not that time consuming...we were in and out in well under an hour...maybe even 30 minutes.

We left snorkel stuff in car and had no problems. I was worried about car break in's the whole time and wasted a good deal of my good vibes on it. In fact, I was so concerned, I didn't bring my digital camera on the trip which is now my biggest regret. I used disposables which were ok, but digit pics would have been so much better. [It was a new SLR camera that I had gotten for my birthday and was way expensive, so I didn't want to worry about it. sigh...]
Debi

I liked the shops in Paia. There were some very legit ones with nice artsy one-of-a-kind things. And you can get a famous Hawaiian Shave Ice there.

I also liked the Sugar Museum. It's right on the main road near the Iao Needle (awesome) and you can go through it quite quickly. It would be a good idea if you haven't gotten much Hawaiian history on your trip.

I personally like Paia. Is Milagro's still there?

Forgot to also recommend Makawao. A great place for lunch and wandering around. Quick to get to from that side of the island too.

Your plan to go to Mama's and then shop in Pa'ia sounds perfect. You can watch windsurfers from the grounds of Mama's, too. Pa'ia has a lot more to offer than hippie shops. There are also galleries, clothes and jewelry shops, along with small restaurants.

We also stopped at the Iao Needle on the last day. It was beautiful and definitely worth a visit. I should clarify that the car window was smashed and my son's backpack stolen from the back seat, but they didn't touch the luggage in the trunk. The Iao parking lot had a lot more people coming and going than Pa'ia. If your luggage is mostly dirty clothes, I wouldn't worry about it in the trunk.

beachkomer - here is another thought. When we were leaving Oahu, we checked out of hotel and drove to airport and we checked our bags in at 11am for a 7:30pm flight on American. We decided to turn the car in early and take a city bus to Waikiki but you could just check you bags in at airport early in the morning, keep the car and sightsee and then return the car as scheduled. No worry about stuff in trunk [or backseat].
Hope this helps...
Debi

beachkomer-which hotel did you like better, the Sheraton or the Hyatt?

We have been to Pa'ia numerous times and have had no theft problems. That said, it's a nice place to stop, but you can kill only an hour at most there.

I love Paia and Mokawao. There is a wonderful art gallery called Maui Hands in Paia. Beautiful work of all kind done by locals. Sherrie Reeves in Mokawao is a great shop. Sherrie is there frequently. She does beautiful paintings, paintings on tile, and T-shirts. The colors are wonderful, so tropical. I love the black bean burritos at Milagros. It's fun to sit outside on the patio and people watch. Yes, they do have some "interesting" characters but no more that Sausalito, or San Franciso etc. Have never had a theft problem...not saying it can't happen, but luckily, it's never happened to me.

There are some really nice stores in Paia that sell jewelry, art, etc. Also, the Paia Fishmarket is very good and serves portions large enough for 2 to share. We've never had a problem with a break in there. The Iao Needle is in a beautiful area too.

Paia is a delightful place. Ten minutes from the airport. Good restaurants and nice shops. It is totally unfair to imply that your car will be broken into in Paia. As I recall that person had left something in plain sight. My nephew had his car broken into at Makena Beach. My friend in Kahana. It is a problem everywhere there are tourists and not just in Hawaii. Don't leave anything in sight in your car. Thought everyone knew that by now.

Thank you so much for your help! The valuable stuff, we will probably just have with us, (cameras, wallets, etc;)

Today was the MOST beautiful yet of our
trip...wow! It has been rainy and cloudy on and off all week and today looked like a postcard! Perfect!

As for my review of the hotels, etc; I will do a trip report. I liked having the two different hotels, both had good points and not so bad points.

Thanks for all of the great tips and ideas, I will review them tonight and look at the map!!

Aloha!
:)

the day before our last day was the most incredible day yet in Maui for us,
the weather was perfect.

Over dinner we decided to try and compromise on relaxing and touring...

I got up early and took pics as the sun came up. We swam at the Hyatt
for about 2 hours and layed out...just enjoying our last day.

We drove to Mama's Fish house for lunch and we were both so amazed by
the ocean view there! Wow! The prices there made our eyes pop as well! Wow!

We spent some time at Ho'okipa Beach Park to watch the windsurfing. This was amazing. The ocean was like something out of a James Cameron movie. I couldn't believe it!

wow...my last purchase was a track
suit to wear on the 21 hour trek home...
Yes...if you are using miles they fly
you all around the USA...It was soft
and comfy, and we slept as we could here and there.

We are home! I will try and do a trip report next week!

Aloha!

Thanks for the help and ideas!